The Best Man

The Best Man

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Hardback

:Newbery Medalist Richard Peck tells a story of small-town life, gay marriage, and everyday heroes in this novel for fans of Gary Schmidt and Jack Gantos.

Archer Magill has spent a lively five years of grade school with one eye out in search of grown-up role models. Three of the best are his grandpa, the great architect; his dad, the great vintage car customizer,; and his uncle Paul, who is just plain great. These are the three he wants to be. Along the way he finds a fourth-Mr. McLeod, a teacher. In fact, the first male teacher in the history of the school.

But now here comes middle school and puberty. Change. Archer wonders how much change has to happen before his voice does. He doesn't see too far ahead, so every day or so a startling revelation breaks over him. Then a really big one when he's the best man at the wedding of two of his role models. But that gets ahead of the story.

In pages that ripple with laughter, there's a teardrop here and there. And more than a few insights about the bewildering world of adults, made by a boy on his way to being the best man he can be.

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About "The Best Man"

:Newbery Medalist Richard Peck tells a story of small-town life, gay marriage, and everyday heroes in this novel for fans of Gary Schmidt and Jack Gantos.

Archer Magill has spent a lively five years of grade school with one eye out in search of grown-up role models. Three of the best are his grandpa, the great architect; his dad, the great vintage car customizer,; and his uncle Paul, who is just plain great. These are the three he wants to be. Along the way he finds a fourth-Mr. McLeod, a teacher. In fact, the first male teacher in the history of the school.

But now here comes middle school and puberty. Change. Archer wonders how much change has to happen before his voice does. He doesn't see too far ahead, so every day or so a startling revelation breaks over him. Then a really big one when he's the best man at the wedding of two of his role models. But that gets ahead of the story.

In pages that ripple with laughter, there's a teardrop here and there. And more than a few insights about the bewildering world of adults, made by a boy on his way to being the best man he can be.- Publisher

Meet the Author

Richard Peck

Ricahrd Peck was born and brought up in Decatur, Illinois on April 5, 1934. He went to college in Exeter, England before he was drafted in the army and served as a soldier in Germany, ghost-writing sermons for chaplains. After the war, Peck became an English teacher, lecturing to middle school students in Illinois and New York City, and that's where he found his calling. While still teaching, he wrote a column on the architecture of historic neighborhoods for the New York Times and contributed articles to the Saturday Review of Literature and the Chicago Tribune as well as other magazines and newspapers. Peck quit teaching on May 2, 1971. He went home and started writing right away. He wrote his first novel and brought it to Holt, Rinehart and Winston (now Henry Holt). An editor called him on the following morning to say it had been accepted and they wanted a second novel. A Year Down Yonder won the Newberry Medal in 2001 and Are You in the House Alone? won the Edgar Award for a mystery story. In 1990, Richard Peck received the MAE Award, a prestigious award sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association in cooperation with School Library Journal. His books have also received or been finalists for the Newbery, the National Book Award, ALA Notable Books, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. Peck has written over 34 books for both youadults and young adults.

Excerpt

Excerpt from: The Best Man

:

Chapter 1

Boys aren&'t too interested in weddings. Girls like them. Grown-ups like them. But my first-grade year started with one wedding, and my sixth ended with another. Call my story &"A Tale of Two Weddings.&" I was in both of them.

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One of the weddings was great. In fact, it&'s just over. There&'s still some cake. And I got a fantastic new suit out of it. The pants are cuffed. The coat gives me shoulders, and I&'ll be sorry to outgrow it. I won&'t mind being taller, but I&'ll miss the suit.

Also, a pair of gold cuff links are involved, but we&'ll come to them later.

The other wedding, the first one, was a train wreck, so let&'s get that one out of the way. Besides, it happened when I was too little to know what was happening or to stand up for my rights. I didn&'t have any rights. I was six.

Did I even know what weddings are? And this one wasn&'t even anybody in our fa